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II. The Immortality of the Soul
In the preceding it was pointed out that physical death is the separation of body and soul and
marks the end of our present physical existence. It necessarily involves and results in the
decomposition of the body. It marks the end of our present life and the end of the “natural
body.” But now the question arises, What becomes of the soul: does physical death bring its life
to a close, or does it continue to exist and live on after death? It has always been the firm
conviction of the Church of Jesus Christ that the soul continues to live even after its separation
from the body. This doctrine of the immortality of the soul calls for brief consideration at this
point.
A. DIFFERENT CONNOTATIONS OF THE TERM “IMMORTALITY.”
In a discussion of the doctrine of immortality it should be borne in mind that the term
“immortality” is not always used in the same sense. There are certain distinctions that are quite
essential, in order to prevent confusion.
1. In the most absolute sense of the word immortality is ascribed only to God. Paul speaks of
Him in I Tim. 6:15,16 as “the blessed and only Potentate, the King of kings, the Lord of lords,
who only hath immortality.” This does not mean that none of His creatures are immortal in any
sense of the word. Understood in that unrestricted sense, this word of Paul would also teach
that the angels are not immortal, and this is certainly not the intention of the apostle. The
evident meaning of his statement is that God is the only being who possesses immortality “as
an original, eternal, and necessary endowment.” Whatever immortality may be ascribed to
some of His creatures, is contingent on the divine will, is conferred upon them, and therefore
had a beginning. God, on the other hand, is necessarily free from all temporal limitations.
2. Immortality in the sense of continuous or endless existence is also ascribed to all spirits,
including the human soul. It is one of the doctrines of natural religion or philosophy that, when
the body is dissolved, the soul does not share in its dissolution, but retains its identity as an
individual being. This idea of the immortality of the soul is in perfect harmony with what the
Bible teaches about man, but the Bible, religion, and theology, are not primarily interested in
this purely quantitative and colourless immortality, — the bare continued existence of the soul.
3. Again, the term “immortality” is used in theological language to designate that state of man
in which he is entirely free from the seeds of decay and death. In this sense of the word man
was immortal before the fall. This state clearly did not exclude the possibility of man’s
becoming subject to death. Though man in the state of rectitude was not subject to death, yet
he was liable to it. It was entirely possible that through sin he would become subject to the law
of death; and as a matter of fact he did fall a victim to it.